The littering problem is widespread across India. People casually throwing out garbage from their homes, on the road, out of their cars and whatnot, is a very common sight to see. However, it seems authorities in Bengaluru are coming up with an interesting way to call out those who repeatedly do so.
As per recent reports, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) are dumping garbage in front of the homes of those caught littering or defaulting on waste disposal rules.
The campaign, nicknamed the “Garbage Dumping Festival”, aims to shame repeat offenders and discourage illegal waste disposal across the city.
However, while some are hailing this as a much-needed solution to Bengaluru’s chronic waste mismanagement problem, critics argue the method is excessive, undignified, and symptomatic of deeper civic failures.
What Is Happening In Bengaluru?
The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML), under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), launched the Kasa Surivua Habba (Garbage Dumping Festival) on Thursday, October 30, 2025.
The campaign is being called a “last resort” by BSWML CEO Karee Gowda and has already punished over 190 wards in five corporations in Bengaluru that have been in violation.
As per Gowda, this is done only when residents continue to litter despite fines, door-to-door campaigns and other measures to raise awareness. As reported by Deccan Herald, Gowda said, “Despite awareness drives and fines, people continue to litter without handing it over to our vehicles. This move is meant to hold them accountable.”
Marshals deployed in these wards would identify repeat offenders and then record a video of them actually littering as evidence.
As per a New Indian Express report, Gowda said, “Our Marshals have recorded the video of habitual offenders and tracked their homes and also their phone numbers. Now, to discipline such litter bugs, this initiative was initiated. We will counter them with proof of their dirty act of throwing garbage.”
A senior BSWML officer was also quoted by Deccan Herald, saying, “After dumping the garbage, we made the residents to give it back to the garbage workers in hand. In some places, garbage workers themselves cleaned the garbage dumped area, but residents were fined for littering.”
Pommala Sunil Kumar, Commissioner, Bengaluru North City Corporation, also said, “Households and establishments dumping garbage along roadsides or in open spaces were identified. In these cases, waste was dumped back in front of their houses and penalties were imposed as per the rules.
To prevent roadside dumping in the future, the Corporation has launched a public awareness drive, urging citizens to hand over segregated dry and wet waste to auto-tippers that visit their localities at designated times.”
A BSWML official also revealed that violators face a fine between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000 for this.
The videos of this happening have already started to circulate around social media, with some hailing this move, while some have raised criticisms against it.
#Watch | Bengaluru residents who litter the streets have received a warning. If you throw trash on the street, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) will toss it back to your house.
The GBA’s “Garbage Dumping Festival” is turning the tables, quite literally, by dumping garbage… pic.twitter.com/ASJsJBkTvw
— NDTV (@ndtv) October 31, 2025
GBA staff in Bengaluru track litterbugs & dump the same trash outside their homes to raise awareness!
Meanwhile, can we dig potholes in front of PWD ministers & in-charge ministers houses who fail to fix roads? #CleanBengaluru #FixPotholes pic.twitter.com/HduzgFTFfI
— ಸನಾತನ (@sanatan_kannada) October 31, 2025
Read More: Watch: Irresponsible Litterers Are Being Gifted Garbage In This Andhra Town
#Karnataka: Around 200 Bengaluru households found garbage dumped outside their homes on Thursday part of a unique awareness drive by the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML).
Called “Kasa Surisuva Habba” or “garbage-dumping festival,” the campaign aims to shame and… pic.twitter.com/zuWVW6fxkv
— The Pioneer (@TheDailyPioneer) October 30, 2025
Watch | ‘Kasa Surisuva Habba’: Authority dumps back waste on the doorstep of ‘habitual litterbugs’ in Bengaluru#Bengaluru #Bengaluru news #waste collection #Garbage #News Videos pic.twitter.com/rqXfTbjjxz
— Deccan Herald (@DeccanHerald) October 30, 2025
Bengaluru resident Rosa S Sudha wrote on X/Twitter, “I am feeling proud of the @GBA_office @GBAChiefComm for taking this initiative and as citizens we should be supporting them to keep our city clean.”
Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Banaswadi, was quoted by TOI, saying, “This is a good thing because people are now being cautious and not dumping waste outside, fearing that it might be dumped back at their doorstep.”
While another resident from the same area, Murthy Rao, said, “People are educated, yet they are the ones littering, while those who are uneducated are cleaning up after them. People need to be more aware of their mistakes — this must be handled more responsibly.”
However, while there are those happy with this, some residents have voiced concerns about this campaign.
Some have raised the question of why only these specific households were targeted when the issue is spread across the city. Others asked if the residents of these houses were actually given warnings prior to garbage being dumped in front of their houses.
Surendra M C, in a report by The Indian Express, said, “My work ends at 4.30 am. The garbage collection vehicles come around 7 am, and I will be sleeping by then. I don’t have a choice other than dumping the garbage. This is not just my problem, but many others also face it.”
While resident Rajesh Naidu said, “By this logic? Can people dump construction debris in front of the GBA office for not painting proper roads? Feeling sad for poura karmikas. They are going to clean this mess. GBA should put heavy fines instead of doing this. More burden for poura karmikas for officers’ laziness.”
Akhil Singh, a resident of Indiranagar, in a TOI report added that, “We are barely awake in the morning to hand over waste, and sometimes pourakarmikas don’t collect it. When we keep the waste at our gate, they skip our house — how are we responsible for that? Dumping trash in front of my house is not the solution.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, Deccan Herald
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Bengaluru, Bengaluru cleanliness, Bengaluru clean, Bengaluru houses, Bengaluru resident, Bengaluru garbage, Bengaluru, Garbage Dumping Festival, Bengaluru Garbage Dumping Festival, Greater Bengaluru Authority, Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited, Bengaluru News, Waste Collection
Disclaimer: We do not hold any rights or copyright over any of the images used; these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly email us.
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